Newspaper magnate Alexander Lebedev
this week faces the start of a trial in Moscow that could see him sent
to a Siberian jail for up to five years.

The
53-year-old tycoon is accused of ‘hooliganism’ motivated by political
hatred after punching businessman Sergei Polonsky during a TV talk show.

The
controversial case is seen by analysts as being politically motivated
and driven by Lebedev’s ownership of an investigative newspaper in
Moscow that regularly exposes corruption in Vladimir Putin’s government
and ruling circles.